1. Field Of The Invention
The apparatus of the present invention relates to rodents. More particularly, the apparatus of the present invention relates to a device which is positioned adjacent a wall or the like structure so that as a rodent, more particularly a mouse, encounters the device, the mouse is required to pass through a tunnel portion of the device, which has been pre-treated with a toxic powder, so that the mouse retains the powder on his coat, and upon returning to the nest and undergoing grooming by other mice, the entire nest would be eliminated.
2. General Background
Historically, mice have been a burden on man throughout the ages, in that they cause a great deal of damage to materials in buildings or the like. Because of their habits of nibbling, mice contaminate much of the material which they do not actually destroy. Furthermore, mice transmit diseases to man such as ratbite fever, weils disease, and the dropping of mice can carry organisms which cause food poisoning.
It has been found that mice, being creatures of habit, lack clear eye-sight, and are in fact nearly blind. Therefore, when a mouse enters a room, the mouse would utilize its whiskers to make contact with the wall of the room as it moves from place to place. Therefore, historically, when a mouse travels through a room, it would travel along the walls or along a boarder that the whiskers can maintain contact with so that the mouse is secure that he is following a particular pathway.
In the effort to eliminate mice, there have been what is known as "dust boxes" placed against solid vertical surfaces, that mice can encounter. However, such boxes should never be placed in open areas, as they would be accessible to children and pets. It is very important that there be a careful use of contact preparations and great care is required in the use of contact dust as they often contain a high concentration of rodenticide, which becomes air-born quite easily and contaminates food stuffs. At the present time dusts are frequently scattered in back of kitchen appliances and openly along walls making them accessible to children and pets and easily movable by air currents caused by fans, air conditioning, heating and opening and closing of doors.
In a search of the art, which may be pertinent to this particular apparatus, reference is made to the following patents:
______________________________________ PATENT NO.: PATENTEE: TITLE: ______________________________________ 2,683,953 Hopkins "Container For Rodenticide" 4,132,026 Dodds "Simplified Blank Forming A Rodent Poison Container" 4,753,032 Sherman "Contact Poison Delivery System" 4,349,981 Sherman "Contact Poison Delivery Device" 1,463,757 French Patent De 3,627,150 German Patent 3,304,646 Staley "Trap For Bugs And The Like" 4,375,732 Waast "Device For Combatting Rodents" ______________________________________